I was initially drawn to his book because of its cover. And I have to say, it did a great job of portraying the book. As some of you already know, authors have very little, if any, input into their covers. Kudos to the team at MIRA.
Secondly, I was interested in this book because it deals with child character points of view. I love writing from children’s and teen’s perspectives and was interested in how this author handled it. This story is about a seven-year-old Calli Clark whose father is absent most of the time and drinking when present. She’s experienced a trauma at age four and has been a selective mute ever since; as in she won’t talk, but there is no physical reason why she can’t. She has a special bond with her best friend, Petra, who lives next door and isn’t bothered by one-sided conversations. One morning both families awaken to find their daughters missing.
The book is told in several first-person accounts, Calli, her brother, her mother, Petra, Petra’s father and the sheriff’s deputy who not only is working the case but he and Calli’s mother have a past. It takes place all in a single day, filling in each character’s back story a little at a time. This delivery seemed to me to draw away from the urgency of the situation with the missing girls. However, it was very well done and parceled out in small doses.
I’d recommend this read.